Why should BSN nurses be concerned with global health issues?
Why should BSN nurses be concerned with global health issues?

In this week’s media presentation, Dr. Louise Fitzpatrick shared how health and disease are global issues. She pointed out that with the mobility of today’s population, those health issues experienced in one area of the world are easily brought to other areas of the world. Consider the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, avian flu, H1N1, or SARS. These diseases have quickly crossed oceans and spread to a variety of countries. They are a public health concern in the U.S. as well as other countries.

To prepare for this Discussion, reflect on the readings and on Dr. Mancuso’s comments in this week’s media presentation; specifically on the role of the BSN nurse in public and global health. With these thoughts in mind, respond to the following:

Why should BSN nurses be concerned with global health issues?
How do global health issues influence nursing practice at your local level or in your work setting? Include specific examples.
Support your response with references from the professional nursing literature.

Post your response by Day 3 of this week.

Respond by Day 7 to at least two of your colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways:

• Ask a probing question.
• Expand on the colleague’s posting.
• Offer polite disagreement or critique, supported with evidence.

In addition to, but not in place of, the above you may:

• Offer and support an opinion.
• Validate an idea with your own experience.
• Make a suggestion or comment which guides or facilitates the Discussion.

Review and reflect on your colleagues’ replies to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments made by your colleagues. (No posting is required for this reflection.)

Nurses Improve Their Communities’ Health Where They Live, Learn, Work, and Play

Abstract
Nurses are often recognized for their volunteer efforts following disasters and international humanitarian crises. However, little attention is paid to the activities of nurses who promote a culture of health in their communities through local volunteer work. In this article, we describe nurses’ perceptions of how they promote health in their communities through formal and informal volunteer work. Using 315 written responses to an open-ended question included in a 2016 survey of the career patterns of nurses in the U.S., we utilized conventional content analysis methods to code and thematically synthesize responses. Two broad categories of nurse involvement in volunteer activities arose from the participants’ responses to the open-ended question, “Please tell us what you have done in the past year to improve the health of your community”: 17% identified job-related activities, and 74% identified non-job-related activities. 9% of respondents indicated they do not participate in volunteer work. Job-related activities included patient education, educating colleagues, and “other” job-related activities. Non-job-related activities included health-related community volunteering, volunteering related to a specific population or disease, family-related volunteering, church activities, health fairs, raising or donating money, and travelling abroad for volunteer work. Nurses are committed to promoting a culture of health in their communities both at work and in their daily lives. Leveraging nurses’ interest in volunteer work could improve the way nurses engage with their communities, expand the role of nurses as public health professionals, and foster the social desirability of healthful living.